"The guy is a Hall of Fame college football coach," offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone said. "I had a chance to visit Coach Erickson at Washington State in 1988. I went to a spring practice after he won a national championship at Miami. I see and feel the same fire and passion now as I did back then."

Thanks to a disgruntled ex-player, Erickson's image is once again in question. Former wide receiver Kerry Taylor recently tweeted that Arizona State's football program needs a new head coach if it wants to win the Pac-12. He did so after making combustible claims in an interview with Channel 3 (KTVK) that will air in its entirety on Sunday.

For now, Taylor will not elaborate or explain his criticism.

"I hope that the interview says enough," Taylor said in an e-mail. "For some reason, if I have to clarify a few things after Sunday, I will."

This is not an isolated incident.

According to the television station, three unnamed Sun Devils were scheduled to back Taylor's claims on camera, but had a change of heart and failed to show up for the interview. That's troubling.

But these are also ex-players. Taylor wasn't selected in the recent NFL draft, and apparently feels like Erickson didn't do enough to further his career. Hey, maybe Lawrence Guy felt the same thing when he slipped to the seventh round. Ditto for Rudy Carpenter, who is currently on Tampa Bay's roster even though he wasn't drafted in 2009.

Erickson might be guilty of not sufficiently nurturing players once they leave the program. But is that his responsibility? Or maybe he's telling his NFL contacts the cold, hard truth instead of automatically glossing those from his program.

Look, Erickson isn't perfect. His attention to detail can be sloppy. His game management hasn't always been crisp. He isn't clocking the longest hours. He might be too lenient with players. And charges of cronyism and nepotism might've been understandable with Rich Olson, the former offensive coordinator who put fans to sleep during his three-years on the job.

But Erickson rectified that problem, replacing Olson with Mazzone. As for those who object to Erickson's son serving on the staff, along with the son of defensive coordinator Craig Bray? Sorry, that's just the way it works in college football, especially for a school like ASU that doesn't overpay for assistant coaches.

Either way, Erickson isn't riding off into the sunset collecting paychecks for himself and his friends. He's entering a pivotal year in his tenure at ASU. His defense is loaded, the program finally has some momentum, and many observers are picking the Sun Devils to win the Pac-12's South division.

"What I've seen is players taking ownership of the team," Mazzone said. "You obviously have more passion about a car you own than one you rent from Hertz.

"And that's what Coach Erickson has allowed them to do, to gain ownership. He's a player's coach."

Mostly, Taylor's claims are falling on muffled ears. While the head coach has felt the wrath of fans in the past, there is too much optimism surrounding the upcoming season to dampen the enthusiasm. Most understand that Erickson's future will be settled on the football field, that his job will be secure only if he produces a banner season in 2012.

Taylor's future is murkier. Blistering and blaming your college coach is not the way to land a job in the NFL, where Erickson has many contacts. If he's actively telling young players to avoid ASU, as Taylor claims he did with one recruit in the upcoming interview, he will be forever ostracized from the Sun Devils family.

Already, Taylor's criticism seems to have had a galvanizing effect. Sources say the incident has many Sun Devils seething and rallying around their head coach. That claim is supported by Gerell Robinson's recent tweet:

"I'll ride wit coach e all day."

To Pasadena or bust. And if it all works out, maybe Erickson should send Taylor a note of thanks.